


Cracks in the Mirror

by DualDreamer



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Introspection, M/M, Narcissism, Zine: Me Myself & I - Jackothy Zine 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:35:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DualDreamer/pseuds/DualDreamer
Summary: Timothy is the perfect double but for some reason Jack can barely stand to be around his living mirror image for longer than necessary. He avoids him, and the weird feelings his presence causes, but one day he finally decides to risk a closer look.And Jack likes what he sees... until he doesn’t.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Timothy Lawrence
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Cracks in the Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I participated in a zine and it was a very interesting experience... so many lovely, creative people came together. After a lot of thinking if I shouldn't expand on the story before posting it, I finally decided to share the pure, vanilla version of it, just like you would find it in the zine.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Helios was too quiet.

Until Dahl attacked, the station had been brimming with Hyperion’s workforce, busy building the future of their company into the void of space. Most of them were evacuated or dead by now; the only thing left behind were bots, some hostile soldiers who kept on fighting after Zarpedon’s death and the ragtag band of Vault Hunters Jack had hired. They were so close to finding the Vault… If it weren’t for his backstabbing ex and her friends, he could already have sent his team on the way. But the Eye of the Destroyer made its name all honour: The damage it caused to the space station could not be left unattended and with the lack of capable hands around here Jack had to sacrifice his own resources. The greater goal got delayed but he could hardly afford to lose Helios when they had fought with tooth and nails to get it back...

Jack needed a pick-me-up, now. If he paced his office one more time, he would go crazy. But when he stormed towards the elevator he stumbled into another, very familiar figure who let out an indignant yelp not fit for its broad and manly stature. Rolling his eyes, Jack took a half step back from his body double who was still struggling to regain his composure. If it was some rando he would have given them a piece of his mind, definitely an angry shove. But how could anyone be mad at this handsome mug?

“Are ya sleepwalking, ‘Jack’?“ He narrowed his eyes at him. “What’re ya doing here anyway, ‘m pretty sure you have a job to do.”

The double flinched. And then he did the _thing._

He straightened up, puffed out his chest and ran a hand through his hair, just before he gave Jack that _perfectly timed_ heroic wink.

“All done. Totally rocked that mission, I mean, what else did ya expect, right?” To top it all off, he shot Jack a couple of fingerguns, visibly regretting it the moment he finished. They stared at each other in dead silence before the double chuckled and asked with a small voice: “Too much?”

“Yes.” Jack sighed and rubbed his face. He was too damn tired to chew him out properly. “Alright, let’s see what else we got for you.”

He turned around and rummaged through his desk while his double rocked back and forth on his heels.

Truth was, he hated it as much as he loved when the kid tried to imitate him. It was endearing… and horribly distracting.

First time they met in person, they were under attack and Jack nearly caught a few bullets because he kept staring at the handsome face he usually only got to see in the mirror. The imminent threat of getting killed had cleared his head pretty quick but it was not a singular incident. Every time Jack was around his double he lost his cool. It went so far that he started to avoid looking at him when he briefed the group, addressing the others instead. Well, except Claptrap.

What was he even afraid of? This was just some dingy nobody, not a badass bride like Nisha. But he did have the face of a greek god… Ugh. It was time that he put a stop to this pathetic behaviour. With a slam of his fist Jack shut down the holo screen display he had been pretending to look at, the unexpected noise startling Tim into almost toppling over. Jack turned towards him like nothing was wrong, spreading his arms as if he was about to announce that they achieved world peace.

“Great news, buddy, there’s nothing to do for you until the others come back.” Tim’s eyes immediately lit up like a kid getting its Mercenary Day presents early but Jack intended to snuff that out right away. “Ah, ah, ah! Don’t look so relieved. Doesn’t mean you’re _free_ _._ See, we didn’t really have any quality one-on-one time yet. It’d be a shame if I didn’t at least confirm your face was worth the money before some bandit shoots it into fleshy bits and uses the parts for goulash, amirite? ‘Course I am.”

Said face lost a lot of colour after that description.

“But I could really use a break...” Tim tried to argue. A warning look from Jack, however, convinced the double to dutifully spit out the words expected from him. "J-just kidding. Heroes never sleep.”

“Nice save. Now c’mere, I wanna take a good look at you.”

Jack motioned him to come closer and made it very clear that he wouldn’t ask twice. Silly Tim, always so dramatic, dragging his feet as if there was any better place he had to be. But like the loyal dog he was, he did what Jack ordered and held still while his personal space got invaded. Now came the tricky part.

Something about seeing an exact duplicate of yourself was really unnerving. Jack never had siblings but he found it hard to believe that this was what it felt like to have a twin brother. Too much sexual tension. If anything… The closest he came to compare it to was his own reflection. Not the brief, mechanical glances to check if his hair and everything else was still in place, no. It was the longer, deeper moments of studying himself that it reminded him of. When the seconds turned into minutes and you lost yourself in it, not even noticing as they dragged on, until the person in the mirror seemed to become someone else. And now this reflection had stepped out of its frame. Timothy Lawrence moved, talked and maybe even _thought_ on his own… but he was literally Jack’s mirror image.

The longer he looked at him, the easier it was to forget where his double began and Jack ended. The doctors really did an excellent job on him. Those bi-coloured eyes, the curve of his nose, the strong line of his jaw… all this was so uniquely “Jack”, and suddenly he couldn’t help himself, his greedy fingers followed the path of his gaze, ignoring the way Tim shivered under the touch. It felt exactly the same as Jack’s face and when he briefly closed his eyes he could almost swear he was running over them over his own. He knew the pictures from before, knew every single freckle that had to be removed to make place for smooth, tan skin.

His doppelganger was perfect. And for a whole moment of ecstatic joy Timothy Lawrence did not exist. Until Jack’s eyes wandered further down his neck and the illusion shattered. The living reflection turned back into the poor, indebted college student with plastic surgery. The boy was still melting underneath his fingertips, not even noticing how the mood had shifted until Jack's icy snarl cut through the air. 

“What is _this_?”

Tim's eyes flew open, panic spreading across his face. He must not have even realised he closed them.

“W-what is what? Sir?”

"This." Jack poked the offending spot with two fingers, with so much force that Tim flinched. "There should be a fricking scar, right here. The hell is this supposed to be?”

Panic turned into tension. Jack saw his little pea brain struggling to come up with a lame excuse and he flashed Tim a brilliant smile because he knew exactly how to deal with this. It didn’t quite reach his eyes though.

“Reeeeeelax.” He patted his shoulder but Tim remained wary. Smart boy. “It’s no biggie, eh? We can fix that. Yeah… Don’t worry.” Jack reached into his pocket, his fingers curling around a sharp metal object.

“I’ll personally take care of it.”

Whatever happened, they would stay the same. Even if Jack had to correct the details.


End file.
